5 hidden gem trade targets for the Pittsburgh Pirates this summer

The Pittsburgh Pirates are going to make some trades at the deadline to acquire some young talent. Although they should be looking at players who have MLB experience or are nearly MLB-ready, they should also look to acquire a few under-the-radar prospects that no one is talking about.

The Bucs likely won’t have to surrender a higher-end player to acquire these gems, if they trust their scouting; Rodolfo Castro to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bailey Falter in 2023 is a great example of such a move. Rentals like Andrew Heaney and Tommy Pham likely aren’t going to command much in return, so the Pirates have to get creative in what they request. After digging through Statcast, the Pirates should look into these minor leaguers. They all have traits and at least one standout measurement that could be a good sign of things to come.

5 hidden gem trade targets for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Sam Shaw, Toronto Blue Jays

Key Stat: 18% whiff rate

Let’s first start off with the most highly touted prospect, Sam Shaw. Shaw was the Toronto Blue Jays’ ninth-round pick in 2023. A high school pick, Shaw has done well for himself in just his age-20 season at A-Ball, batting .268/.411/.453 with a .414 wOBA and 149 wRC+ across 236 plate appearances entering the week. Shaw has struck out nearly as many times as he’s walked, with 44 Ks to oppose 43 free passes. On top of that, he’s hit for some power, with a .184 isolated slugging percentage.

Shaw does not swing and miss frequently. His 18% whiff rate is the fourth lowest among all A-Ball Statcast-tracked batters with at least 150 plate appearances. However, unlike his counterparts, who also have a sub-20% whiff rate, Shaw has displayed good raw power. He has an 88.8 MPH exit velocity and a barrel rate of 8.9%. His .370 xwOBA is the second-best mark as well.

Shaw can play both second base and the outfield. Last season, he was primarily an outfielder, but this year, he’s mostly seen time at the keystone. He is considered a bat-first prospect and a below-average runner. For what it’s worth, Shaw has shown efficiency on the basepaths this season, going a perfect six-for-six in stolen base attempts.

Shaw is going to be today’s highest-ranked prospect, but isn’t going to appear on the top half of any Blue Jays’ prospect list. He can be found as the Blue Jays’ 24th-best prospect on MLB Pipeline and 29th on Baseball America. 

Ernesto Martinez Jr., Milwaukee Brewers

Key Stat: .367 xwOBA

While in-division trades aren’t super common, they happen, and the Pirates could target Ernesto Martinez Jr., who is in the Milwaukee Brewers’ farm system. Martinez has some solid numbers on the year, batting .247/.368/.400 over 182 plate appearances entering the holiday week. Martinez has walked at an impressive 15.4% clip with a respectable 22.5% strikeout percentage. Overall, he has a .352 wOBA and 111 wRC+.

Martinez is hitting well and has some robust underlying numbers, most notably his .367 xwOBA. The average xwOBA at Triple-A this season is only .317. Martinez ranks 25th among all players at his level with at least 150 plate appearances this season. But xwOBA isn’t the only stat he’s excelling in.

Martinez also has a strong 92 MPH exit velocity, which ranks 22nd among his fellow Triple-A batters. His barrel rate sits at 10.8%, and while that may not rank top 25, like in exit velocity and xwOBA, his mark is still well above the average 6.9% Triple-A rate. He’s able to put his power to good use because he doesn’t swing and miss at a high rate, either. Martinez Jr.’s whiff rate comes in at 24.4%.

Martinez only appears on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Brewers’ prospect list, coming in at exactly number 30. They give him pretty good grades, including average or better marks for his hit, power, fielding, and arm. The only tool in which he doesn’t project as average or better is his running ability. However, given that he is a first baseman, his speed isn’t a top priority.

Drew Sommers, Detroit Tigers

Key Stat: 7.1 feet of extension off the mound

Drew Sommers is a relief pitching prospect in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system. The left-hander has pitched 38 innings this year between their Double-A and Triple-A teams, working to an outstanding 1.89 ERA, 2.85 FIP, and 0.95 WHIP to begin the week. He has struck out 26.5% of opponents, with only 6% reaching via free pass. Sommers has allowed just one home run and has induced ground balls at a 66% rate. That is currently the fifth-highest GB% among all minor league pitchers with 30+ IP this season.

The Southpaw is a two-pitch reliever. Sommers operates with a two-seam sinker, using a slider as his primary breaking pitch. However, the important thing to look at is his perceived velocity. He only clocks in at 94.4 MPH on the radar gun, but his pitches look much faster out of hand because of his 7.1 feet of extension off the mound. His sinker looks more like a 95.7 MPH offering, on average. For reference, Bailey Falter is in the 96th percentile of extension in the Major Leagues at 7.2 feet.

That ‘added’ velocity makes his arm slot even more deceptive. Sommers’ vertical release point sits at 4.83 feet off the ground. Think of Andrew Heaney’s arm angle, but if he threw 94-95 MPH, and with elite extension that made him look like he was throwing a lot harder.

This mix of low arm angle and extension would almost make Sommers a unicorn in the Major Leagues. This year, only one pitcher has at least seven feet of extension off the mound and a vertical release height lower than five feet, that being Edwin Diaz (min. 300 pitches). Sommers isn’t on any top 30 prospect lists either, making him a very under-the-radar relief prospect.

Hunter Hoopes, Minnesota Twins

Key Stat: 11.8 inches of downward movement on fastball

Hunter Hoopes would be a good story if he made the Major Leagues. The right-hander started his pro career out in the Frontier League in 2023 after wrapping up his college tenure. Hoopes didn’t play in 2024 and was signed by the Minnesota Twins last July. Hoopes’ first taste of affiliated baseball has gone as well as it could go.

Hoopes has pitched 28.2 innings for the Twins’ A-Ball and High-A affiliates, working to a 2.20 ERA, 3.80 FIP, and 0.98 WHIP. Hoopes is getting plenty of strikeouts, with a 31.9% K%. His 10.9% walk rate isn’t going to jump off the page, but he has allowed just two home runs all season. That's likely because Hoopes’ fastball has some excellent attributes to it.

Hoopes’ four-seam fastball averages out with about 11.8 inches of vertical drop, giving it the ‘rising fastball’ look to batters. Like Sommers, he throws it with elite extension, too, at 7.1 feet. It’s not a flat pitch either, with 8.2 inches of arm-side run, which is better than the MLB average. Although Hoopes is a relief prospect, he has a wider variety of pitches than Sommers.

Hoopes has two other pitches he uses with regularity, including an upper-80s changeup and lower-80s slider. Like his four-seam fastball, these pitches’ velocities also play up because of his extension off the mound. 

Antonio Jimenez, San Francisco Giants

Key Stat: 14.7 inches of downward movement on fastball

Antonio Jimenez is having a strong season for the San Francisco Giants’ Pacific Coast League Triple-A team. He has pitched 28.2 innings to open the week, working to a 4.08 ERA, 4.82 FIP, and 1.62 WHIP. The left-hander has a 27.8% strikeout percentage with an impressive 34.8% whiff rate. His whiff percentage is the 18th-best mark among pitchers with at least 500 pitches thrown at Triple-A. 

Jimenez’s walk rate is abnormally high at 17.8%. However, this is far from an issue he’s had in the past. His BB% between 2023 and 2024 was only 9.6%, and he had just a 6.9% walk rate for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A team last season. On top of that, his overall numbers may not look great on the surface, but keep in mind this is in the ultra-hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, where the average ERA is 5.45 and the average OPS is .802.

Jimenez’s fastball has been able to beat the altitude with good shape and velocity. He sits around 95-96 MPH with above-average vertical break at 14.7 inches. The southpaw can also toss the pitch with some horizontal movement, sitting at 7.3 inches, which would also be around the average in MLB. Aside from a four-seamer, Jimenez has a sinker, slider, and changeup to work with.

Jimenez could be an immediate help for the Pirates’ bullpen. Given that he also isn’t on either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America’s top 30 Giants’ prospect lists, the Bucs could likely ask for him as a throw-in to a larger deal or as a piece in a much smaller trade. The Pirates need lefty bullpen help, and Jimenez could be it.